Learning Resources for Schools

Are you a Modern Studies pupil or a teacher of Modern Studies? Do you want to know more about the topic of Crime and the Law or Law and Order? If so, you’ve come to the right place!

This webpage has been created by SCCJR especially for Modern Studies learners. If you are studying National 5 or Higher Modern Studies, you will have the opportunity to carry out an assignment relating to the unit of Crime and the Law. For Advanced Higher, you will be conducting research to help you write your dissertation on a topic within the area of Law and Order.

The briefings you will find on this page reflect some of the most popular topics that previous learners have decided to write about in their assignments and dissertations. Therefore, these resources donot cover the entire Modern Studies curriculum, but are linked specifically to popular areas of research tied to the curriculum.

We hope you will the information you are looking for using these briefings, which are available to download. However, if you cannot locate a briefing that deals specifically with the topic of your assignment or dissertation, have a look within those available, as they all contain links to various sources of information that might help with your research.

According to the SQA, a common shortcoming in learners’ dissertations is the lack of appropriate sources used. For example, some pupils overly rely on general internet sites such as Wikipedia, BBC News and newspaper websites. The materials published on this site have been gathered to provide learners with credible, relevant sources of information. All the materials we have referenced come from trustworthy sources, such as academic research, government publications and other reputable institutions. For further guidance on carrying out your own research, and identifying credible and reliable sources, we strongly recommend you read SCCJR‘Research methods and skills’.

Briefings prepared by Rebecca Foster, SCCJR PhD student, and Greg Duncan, PGDE Modern Studies student, both of University of Glasgow.

How to use this resource

The briefings you will find below are designed to provide an overview of particular topics within the area of Crime and the Law/Law and Order.

Within each briefing you will find links to further sources of information, including government reports, official statistics and academic research. These are the texts we have used to inform our briefing documents, and which you should access if you wish to gain a more detailed understanding of the issue (e.g. if this relates to the subject of your dissertation). How to identify these sources:

Links to relevant government and academic publications and other reputable sources are underlined and in blue.

Links to other relevant SCCJR briefings within this collection are underlined and in purple.

There is no one ‘cause’ of crime. In fact, crime is a highly complex phenomenon and criminologists, policy makers, law-makers and others are still trying to understand it. This briefing provides an overview of some of the key criminological theories which aim to explain the causes of crime. The briefing also includes a discussion of the explanations of youth crime.

An overview of the main aspects of the criminal justice system in Scotland: the police service; crown office and procurator fiscal service; court system; prison system; and criminal justice social work services.

Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: VictimisationCOMING SOON

This briefing presents some key findings taken from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) relating to the actual risk of victimisation and perceived risk of victimisation.

Crime and the media COMING SOON

This briefing focuses on the relationship between the media and crime. It includes a discussion of the ways in which crime is portrayed in the media and how the media can influence crime.

A detailed account of the youth justice system in Scotland is provided here, including details of the Children’s Hearing System, interventions to prevent offending and divert young people from prosecution.

What is capital punishment? Why is it no longer used in the UK? This briefing examines some of the arguments for the death penalty given by its supporters, and some of the arguments against, used by those who oppose it.

Consideration is given to the rate of imprisonment in Scotland, including an international comparison. The briefing also looks at characteristics of those imprisoned in Scotland, and of the status of remand prisoners.

The purpose of imprisonment has evolved over centuries into its current form. This briefing discusses the contemporary role that prisons have in punishing and rehabilitating offenders. This briefing features an analysis of the issue of prisoners’ ‘right to vote’.

This briefing provides a detailed description of the various types of non-custodial sentences that are available to the courts in Scotland – that is, sentences which do not involve a prison sentence. An evaluation of the effectiveness of various sentences is provided and consideration is given to whether non-custodial sentences are an effective alternative to prison.

High levels of prisoner reoffending continue to pose a challenge, to the prison service, policy makers, social work services and wider society. This briefing examines the role of the prison service in terms of efforts to reduce recidivism, while also considering the responsibilities of other parts of the criminal justice system in tackling this issue.

This briefing seeks to provide an insight into an often-overlooked group in society adversely affected by crime: the families of prisoners. Particular consideration is given to the impact on children of prisoners.

What do we mean by knife crime? Is knife crime a problem in Scotland? Which groups are most likely to be involved in knife crime? This briefing addresses these questions and considers what can be done to prevent and reduce knife crime.

This briefing provides an overview of current drug laws in the UK and of the prevalence of drug use in Scotland. It considers the relationship between drug use and wider criminality, and how policy makers seek to confront this issue.

Provides guidance for gathering and evaluating your own sources of information, including internet-based sources. A detailed section on ‘conducting your own social research’ is essential reading for Higher and Advanced Higher learners.